I Love You
by Princesscrystalwrite
Summary: A response to the I Love You challenge. Link inside. Paul reflects on his memories of Ash before he joins his love in the afterlife.


**Hey there! This is in response to the I love you challenge that is posted here:**

topic/121140/160676417/1/The-I-love-you-challenge

 **I apologize if this makes any of you cry. I really don't think that the challenge was made for sad stories, but whatever! I read the rules and this should follow the guidelines, there is only one bad word that is said twice in this story, so feel free to read! Enjoy!**

 _I love you._

Those were his last words. Ash had loved him, and he never deserved it. He had always treated Ash terribly, only being nice when he was finally defeated. He wasn't even that nice then.

What would've happened, if he hadn't acted that way? Would Ash still be dead? Would they be in a happy relationship? Would they still have gone their separate ways? Somehow, Paul knew that the answer to all of those questions, was no.

Paul let the tears flow freely as he cried in remembrance of Ash. Ash's last words, were wasted on him. Paul looked at the one thing that he had left of Ash. The one thing. He closed his eyes as the tattered hat brought unwanted memories.

" _Hey! Let's battle again sometime!"_

Paul cried as he remembered Ash after the younger trainer had beaten him. He was so naive, yet he knew of his feelings for Paul. He had hidden them for the sake of letting Paul see the error of his ways.

 _"Are you okay? Do you need help?"_

Paul cried as he remembered Ash helping him up after some asshole had beaten him up. Ash had brought him all the way back to the hospital, despite Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokémon telling their trainer to leave him for death to take. Ash didn't listen, he was far too kind.

 _"Paul! Help me! Please!"_

Paul cried as he remembered Ash's scream. Ash's 'friend', Gary Oak, had pushed him while he was close to the edge of the canyon. Ash and all of his rivals decided that they needed some bonding time. Gary had lead Ash to see the view, and then pushed him, before walking back to the group. Paul had been the only one with enough sense to not believe that liar. Ash was far too trusting.

 _"Paul! I can't hold on much longer!"_

Paul cried as he remembered not being fast enough. He had run to save the younger trainer, but his speed wasn't enough to save Ash. Ash hadn't been able to keep hold of his weight. No matter how many heavy Pokémon his bones could carry, despite Ash being rather light, he couldn't hold his own body up for long. As he fell, he smiled in the eyes of death as he saw Paul yell for the rest of the group. They came running, Ash smiled at all of them, even that monster. And he yelled the words that would haunt Paul forever,

"Paul! I love you!"

They echoed in the poor boy's head. As he watched as inevitable death approached his friend. The others in the group were shocked, except for Gary. That asshole just smirked,

"I knew it. You were too slow Paul. You were too slow." Officer Jenny had arrested Gary for 1st degree murder. But that didn't change that Ash was gone. Dead.

Delia and Paul cried in each other's arms for hours. No one, not even Reggie, had seen Paul cry so much, he wasn't even done by the end of those five hours. He hugged Reggie and started crying into his chest for another few hours, before he had cried himself into a dreamless sleep. They had spent the next few weeks at Delia's house.

On their very last night there, a Pokémon had wandered in the house, a Yamask. That wasn't the shocking part, the most shocking part? Was that the Yamask was carrying a face that was the exact shape as Ash's. Delia had welcomed the Pokémon happily into her home. Ash's other Pokémon gladly excepted it as one of their own.

But during that time, he had never even saw Paul, Paul had been crying in Route 1 with Reggie, he would never take any girl or boy, none would be as pure hearted, as kind, as determined, as charismatic nor as selfless as Ash. When he told that to Reggie, the older boy didn't try to persuade Paul otherwise; he knew that those words were blinding his thoughts.

"I love you."

They had ruined his life.

"I love you."

If Paul had never heard them, he wouldn't have grieved this much.

"I love you."

Reggie was starting to develop a deep hatred for Ash. So when the Yamask had visited Reggie and Paul in Sinnoh, Reggie had glared at it and told it to leave. Paul didn't though. Paul smiled and let a few tears slip down his cheeks.

"I love you too Ash." When Reggie heard that, he yelled at the Yamask, not caring that it was a Pokémon that wanted to visit a friend from its past life. He just yelled, screamed for it to leave. Before the Yamask did leave, no amount of noise could block out what it said,

" _Paul, I love you."_

An elderly Paul smiled at the memory through his tears, before his wrinkly hand put Ash's hat on his own hairless head. Paul smiled, and he uttered what he knew were going to be his last words, he closed his eyes for the very last time,

"Ash, I love you."


End file.
